SITUATION:
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is ready to pave the way for carbon-free, safe and limitless fusion power. BOND Building was engaged early in the conceptual design and planning to assist in preconstruction with the CFS team as their Construction Manager for the first-ever net-energy fusion machine. Founded in 2018 with a mission to commercialize fusion energy in a timeframe that combats climate change, CFS is collaborating with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center to build SPARC, the world’s first fusion device that produces plasmas which generate more energy than they consume. SPARC is a compact, high-field tokamak. It will be built with high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets which allow for a smaller device than previous magnet technology. SPARC is an important step to accelerate the development of commercial fusion energy.
CHALLENGES:
- Fast-track planning, estimating, scheduling and phasing of a first-ever project
- Diverse team of physicists and engineers spread across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Unique regulatory requirements
- Coordination of significant scope packages, including developing a greenfield site with a massive concrete structure
- Planning for multiple atypical systems within a cost-efficient building
- Incorporating flexibility for future and not-as-yet understood technologies
- Safely constructing around custom-designed, singularly manufactured, and irreplaceable equipment
SOLUTIONS:
- Multi-phased delivery which balances a fast-track schedule with the design finalization of major systems
- Use of in-house Building Information Modeling services to develop critical pick and equipment rigging plans
- Considerable pre-planning and constructability advice during design and operational planning
- Procurement of major equipment and systems to support delivery goals
RESULTS:
- Completion on track for 2025, a critical timeframe necessary for fusion energy to address climate change